On April 4, Ted Labuza spoke about bioterrorism involving our food in a lecture called “Bioterrorism and the Food Chain: What Should We Be Doing?”

Labuza teaches Food Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He has worked on biosecurity with the new Homeland Security funded center at the university.

Labuza began his speech by saying that most contamination is because of accidental introduction of food pathogens or contaminants. Some of the accidents include improper handling, under processing, and cross contamination.

He also explained that when terrorists plan an attack, their goals are to scare of kill people, affect the most vulnerable, and create chaos and economic disaster. Terrorists have a large number of available agents.

Labuza said that the main two agents are ricin and bot. Ricin comes from the lectin plant. After coming in contact with ricin, symptoms set in 18 to 24 hours later. Ricin kills an adult by blocking protein synthesis in the body. The bot toxin is a neuro-toxin and the symptoms appear 2 to 3 days after contact. Some of the symptoms include double vision and loss of muscle control.

Labuza explained that fresh produce and dairy products have a very high vulnerability. He also said there are many places that food can become contaminated, in the trucks, in the plants, and even the supermarket.

“There are places in supermarkets, but the effect is low. You can spray agents on fresh produce,” Labuza said.

Labuza also explained that following the 3 L’s would lower contamination: Light it up, Lock it up, and Limit Access.

Labuza finished by saying that bioterrorism is a real threat but if everyone takes certain precautions, chances of contamination can be lowered.

Labuza was the final speaker in the 2004-05 Academic Speaker Series.